A brand is one of the most important distinguishing factors that enables a product or service to be differentiated from other brands and sold. A strong brand makes it easier to sell the product or service it represents. As brand value increases, so too does profitability, and the value of the brand owner increases. Effective brand management is essential to achieving all of this. Strategic brand management is therefore crucial.
Brands are crucial for maintaining or strengthening the image of the product or service they represent in the eyes of consumers. This will impact the brand owner’s future sales and profit expectations. In today’s world, strengthening a brand solely through advertising is not enough, so the development of new strategic methods is prioritized. Among these, exploring consumer relationships is gaining importance. In addition to product and service quality, companies must also position their brand narratives and concepts within the public consciousness through various promotional methods to build a strong brand in this intensely competitive world.
With increased consumer awareness, the expectation of high quality has increased. Due to intense competition and the impact of new technologies, product and service lifecycles have shortened. The need for constant innovation, growing businesses, and mergers, along with efforts to become more effective in the market, has led to the need for strategic brand management. In this increasingly competitive environment, businesses strive to strengthen their brands with unique strategies to differentiate themselves and remain the top choice for consumers. Short-term profitability has now become a long-term goal of survival and profitability.
Strategic brand management encompasses a consistent, long-term approach. A brand strengthened through strategic brand management will also provide businesses with the opportunity to forge pre-competitive collaboration opportunities. This will lead to opportunities for collaboration with other companies, particularly for joint product development projects. Such strategic collaborations will increase profitability by allowing businesses to share costs with their partners, contributing to a sustainable structure.
The primary goal of strategic brand management is to establish a brand and ensure its identity with the brand, ensuring its product or service features and all aspects are identified. This includes the quality of the product or service, its packaging, price, distribution channels, and all promotional activities. The primary goal is to position the brand as a value, distinguishing it from its competitors and securing a preferred position in the market for consumers. These efforts require well-planned, long-term strategies that require meticulous attention, not short-term ones. This way, consumers will be able to positively differentiate the product’s quality and benefits from its competitors. The brand will integrate with the consumer by offering added value in addition to meeting their physical needs.
The primary goal of strategic brand management is to build brand awareness and foster brand recognition. Becoming the preferred brand in the eyes of consumers and consistently creating value will position the brand as a leader in the market. “Strategic brand” management is fundamentally about building brand awareness and strengthening the brand.
Strategic Brand Management Process
Strategic brand management involves creating, measuring, and managing the brand. Strategic brand management involves defining the brand’s market positioning, preparing the plan to be implemented, measuring and interpreting brand performance after implementation, and finally, determining how to further increase and maintain the value achieved in the eyes of the business, consumers, and intermediaries.
The main theme of brand positioning is to differentiate the brand from its competitors and convey this information to the consumer. Therefore, the company’s ability to differentiate itself from its competitors in its market, where it will position its product or service within competitive environments, the image it will create in the eyes of consumers, and how it will differentiate itself from competitors through the value it offers to consumers will be factors to be evaluated in brand positioning studies.
The second stage in strategic brand management is the development of the plan to be implemented. These include market analysis, competitor analysis, and the product or service’s features to be highlighted and the value proposition it will offer to consumers.
Following the implementation of the strategies, brand performance is measured and interpreted. Finally, studies are conducted on how to improve shortcomings and ensure continuity in areas of strength.
*Gök, M. (2022): The Impact of Brand Awareness Activities on Social Media on Consumer Preferences: An Automotive Sector Example. Ege University, Institute of Social Sciences, Master’s Thesis, Izmir
Mubin Murat GÖK